Lexmark study claims Fed wastes $1M daily on printing

Lexmark International released the results of a survey this week that suggests that the federal government wastes more than $1 million daily on printing.

The study, based on the survey as well as federal and Lexmark's proprietary printing data, suggests that the government spends nearly $1.3 billion annually on employee printing, and nearly $450 million of that is described as wasteful.

The Lexington-based company noted that the amount of waste is more than four times the $100 million that President Barack Obama has called upon federal agency chiefs to eliminate from their administrative budgets.

"We thought this would be a great way to show some opportunity for cost savings that wouldn't require cutting programs," said Brian Henderson, Lexmark's federal information solutions director.

The survey of 380 federal government employees, conducted in March by O'Keeffe & Company, reported that 92 percent say they don't need all the documents they print in a day.